Upset victory for Mac

The McMaster Marauders women's soccer team is the Cinderella story of the OUA FInal Four. After a penalty kick victory, McMaster upset the Western Mustangs at TD Waterhouse Stadium after both teams failed to score through 120 minutes of play.

It was a game played through wild weather with excessive rain affecting both sides’ offense. Despite the conditions, McMaster's keeper Brittany Duffey stood tall and stunned the Mustangs on multiple occasions.

Early in the game, a deep throw from the Mustang offense created havoc in front of the net but Duffey made a diving stop to prevent the tie from being broken.

Duffey would be called upon again shortly after, when the leading OUA scorer came barreling down for the Western offense but the keeper would not be beat. The first half belonged to the home team and McMaster relied heavily upon their defense in order to preserve the tie at the 45th minute.

In the final 45 minutes, McMaster would assert themselves in the offensive third of the pitch. Their defense pushed up in order to keep the ball in Western's end and their efforts would be nearly vindicated late in the game. In the 82nd minute, the Maroon and Grey earned a free kick and a chance to score an important late goal. The kick would narrowly sail over the bar and McMaster's best chance would be marked down as a missed opportunity.

Mac would have to call upon their back four again to protect the net for the rest of their game. The Mustangs narrowly missed a header after a Western forward made contact with a cross and the ball bounced off the crossbar and out. The playoff game would need extra time with a 0-0 tie at the final whistle.

Two fifteen-minute overtime periods would be similar to the second half, seeing both teams earn scoring chances. But an extra thirty minutes didn't solve anything and the two teams were headed to the intensity of penalty kicks.

Keeper Brittany Duffey was twice outplayed by well-placed shots from two of Western's most feared strikes. But the Mustang keeper could not outperform her opponent, allowing three goals. Mel Van Der Hoop, Maureen Mai, and Emma Mangialardi were the goal scorers for McMaster.

With the win, McMaster is now headed to the University of Ottawa for the OUA Final Four tournament this weekend. They'll take on the No.1 ranked team in the country, the Ottawa Gee-Gees.